Monday

Nate Corddry grew up on the actor-appropriate Academy Avenue in Weymouth. He took his first step toward Hollywood while at East Junior High, playing John Adams in a one-act play about the Boston Massacre. He was further driven by sibling rivalry, wanting to reach the same heights as his sister, Laura, and brother, Rob, both members of the Weymouth North High School Drama Club.

“I saw them getting all this attention and I wanted it,” Corddry said during an hour-long phone interview from Los Angeles. “If anyone tells you at 11 years old that it’s about the craft, then they’re full of sh**. It’s all about getting positive reinforcement and love. There was a pack of girls standing around my brother after one of the musicals and I wanted a piece of that action.”

Corddry, 41, will have his family’s focus this week when he co-stars as playwright Neil Simon in the splashy eight-episode, limited-series, “Fosse/Verdon,” premiering at 10 p.m. Tuesday, April 9 on FX.

Corddry laughs a lot, recalling those formative years in Weymouth, when his only motivation was to one-up his sister, and especially his brother, a two-time Emmy-winner for “Childrens Hospital.” He also stars on HBO’s “Ballers."

“Back then that was the Rob with the beautiful windswept, full head of hair,” Nate said. “It was one of the great heartbreaks in the Corddry family when he lost every damn hair on his head. It’s a shame. He looks at me and my Propecia with envy.”

It’s more sibling revelry than rivalry with the Corddry brothers, however. “I bet it would be a lot more competitive if we looked more like each other, going out for the same parts and chasing the same things, but we’re so different,” Nate said. “It’s all very supportive.”

He said he and Rob were close to collaborating on a feature adaptation of the Andre Dubus memoir, “Townie.” But the project eventually fell apart. “We still haven’t found that one great thing we can spend a year of our lives working on.”

But, if that project were to be a superhero movie? “Rob would be cast as the villain. He has more of a villain's face than I do. He’s more Lex Luther. I’m more, 'aw shucks'; more Peter Parker.”

He's also a little Neil Simon. Maybe a lot. From behind owlish glasses and crew-neck sweaters, Corddry melts into his “Fosse/Verdon” character. Corddry said putting on Simon’s trademark specs, adopting a slight New York accent and going to work as the legendary playwright was “a thrill and absolutely scary.”

“These kinds of jobs don’t come along too often," Corddry said. "I’ll be answering questions about this job probably for the remainder of my career because he is such a significant name. Neil Simon is a giant. There’s a reason they named a Broadway theater after him.”

Simon, who died last August at age 91, was one of Fosse’s closest friends and collaborators. “They lived in the same building in New York, and they just adored each other, specifically Neil and Gwen," Corddry said. "She loved Neil because he was sort-of an anti-Bob character. Bob was larger than life. Bob was a player. He was an operator. He was an addict. Neil was none of those things. Neil was brilliant, erudite, sweet. He was not chasing women. He wasn’t taking pills. He was solid. There was a real groundedness to Neil that Gwen admired and respected.”

Together Fosse and Simon created the Broadway musical “Sweet Charity,” with Simon penning the book. They also collaborated on the 1962 musical “Little Me,” with Simon

writing and Fosse choreographing. Simon won a Pulitzer and three Tony Awards and penned more than 60 plays and screenplays, including “Barefoot in the Park,” “The Odd Couple,” “Last of the Red Hot Lovers,” and “Brighton Beach Memoirs.” In 1966, Simon had four shows running simultaneously on Broadway.

“Their friendship was so great. Bob was so big and a bit out of control," Corddry said. "I think they liked each other because they balanced each other out … Bob Fosse was first person he sent ‘The Odd Couple’ to, and Bob told him that it was the funniest play he’s ever read … They were each other’s supporters and advocates.”

Like brother, Rob, Corddry got his first big break as a correspondent on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart." Since his debut in 2005, Corddry has gone on to rub elbows with Oscar-winners Tom Hanks, Aaron Sorkin, Allison Janney, Sandra Bullock, and A-list directors like David Fincher and Paul Feig. But he'll never forget his South Shore roots, and the nurturing he received in school musicals like “Noises Off,” “Fame,” “Guys and Dolls” and “Hello Dolly.”

He singles out Jan Smith, Weymouth’s longtime drama teacher, who retired in 2010 after heading the program for 30 years. In 2015, Corddry asked the Weymouth School Committee to name the high school stage in her honor.

“She was perhaps my greatest influence,” Corddry said. “She is the foundation for all my discipline. She taught me early on that we are not here to play. We are here to work, and this is an art form that takes hard work and discipline. If you don’t do your homework and don’t come prepared, you will be found out.”

That’s why Corddry did meticulous research on Simon. He listened to interviews and read Simon’s books, “Rewrite” and “Memoirs.”

“I learned an enormous amount about his life, his creative process, his family and his work and his insecurities," Corddry said. "I would listen to NPR’s `Fresh Air’ interview in my dressing room before I would go down to the set so I could have his accent fresh in my head. That being said, stepping on set for the first time opposite Sam and Norbert [Leo Butz] playing Paddy Chayefsky, I was shaking in my boots.”

Though he admits he doesn’t get back to the South Shore often enough, Corddry still considers Weymouth home. He supports the high school’s theater department, which is now run by childhood friend Donnie Norton. Norton's wife, Jeanne, is the choreographer.

“The amount of money flooding into the arts in Weymouth is very much different than the amount of money coming into a Cambridge Rindge or a Bromfield School; and all these communities with higher property taxes and bigger arts budgets. Weymouth is like playing with one hand tied behind its back. Donnie and Jeanne are changing that. They won the state championship last year. That’s unheard of. It’s a big deal for them, winning against serious programs with a lot of influence and a lot of money. ... I’m so excited and proud of them.”

Corddry also said he misses Fenway Park and Denly’s Pizza (“The best on the South Shore.”) He has fond memories, too, of his first job – delivering The Patriot Ledger.

“I have really vivid memories of the discipline it took," he said. "You’re learning to be held accountable. It’s a great job for a kid. Every Saturday, we’d deliver the Saturday paper at 6 in the morning. My father (Steve Corddry) woke me up. During the week I would walk with a bag, but on Saturdays he would drive me. It was a bigger paper. Afterward, we drove down to Dunkin Donuts in Jackson Square and got chocolate croissants and hot chocolate. We talked about the Red Sox and school and whatever else. I think about that memory all the time. ... That time was our time.”

Corddry was a Boy Scout for Troop 19 in Weymouth, earning Eagle Scout for a project at Church of the Holy Nativity in South Weymouth. After graduating Weymouth High in 1995, Corddry went on to Colby-Sawyer College in New London, N.H., and earned a degree in communications. He lived in New York from 2002 to 2006, landing guest spots on “Guiding Light” and “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.” He made the big move to Los Angeles in the summer of 2006.

Over the years, he's had roles on “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,” “Harry’s Law,” “Mom” “30 Rock,” “New Girl" and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and most recently, Fincher’s “Mindhunter,” which streams on Netflix. Corddry’s film credits include “The Circle,” “The Heat,” “The Invention of Lying,” “St. Vincent” and the “Ghostbusters” remake. He also performed summer stock at the Williamstown Theatre Festival and has done voice work on animated projects. The only thing the versatile Corddry can’t do is dance, which is ironic considering Fosse and Verdon are two of the most influential hoofers in Broadway history.

“I do zero dancing in this show. Thank God. I learned a lot of things at the Weymouth High School Drama Club, but never learned how to dance. I still don’t have that skill.”

Next, Corddry is getting ready to shoot a series debuting on Apple TV that he was unable to reveal details about. But first, has set his DVR to record “Fosse/Verdon” on Tuesday night.

“I can’t wait to see everyone’s work. It’s going to be an exceptional work of TV art.”

Dana Barbuto may be reached at dbarbuto@patriotledger.com or follow her on Twitter @dbarbuto_Ledger.